Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Ahab sent to all the children of Israel
and had the prophets assemble on Mount Carmel.
Elijah appealed to all the people and said,
“How long will you straddle the issue?
If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.”
The people, however, did not answer him.
So Elijah said to the people,
“I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD,
and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.
Give us two young bulls.
Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood,
but start no fire.
I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood,
but shall start no fire.
You shall call on your gods, and I will call on the LORD.
The God who answers with fire is God.”
All the people answered, “Agreed!”
Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal,
“Choose one young bull and prepare it first,
for there are more of you.
Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire.”
Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it
and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying,
“Answer us, Baal!”
But there was no sound, and no one answering.
And they hopped around the altar they had prepared.
When it was noon, Elijah taunted them:
“Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating,
or may have retired, or may be on a journey.
Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears,
as was their custom, until blood gushed over them.
Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state
until the time for offering sacrifice.
But there was not a sound;
no one answered, and no one was listening.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.”
When the people had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD
that had been destroyed.
He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob,
to whom the LORD had said, “Your name shall be Israel.”
He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones,
and made a trench around the altar
large enough for two measures of grain.
When he had arranged the wood,
he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood.
“Fill four jars with water,” he said,
“and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood.”
“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he said,
and they did it a third time.
The water flowed around the altar,
and the trench was filled with the water.
At the time for offering sacrifice,
the prophet Elijah came forward and said,
“LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
let it be known this day that you are God in Israel
and that I am your servant
and have done all these things by your command.
Answer me, LORD!
Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God
and that you have brought them back to their senses.”
The LORD’s fire came down
and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,
“The LORD is God! The LORD is God!”
R. (1b) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
O LORD, my allotted portion and cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Teach me your paths, my God,
and guide me in your truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
5 “Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life.”
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10TH Mt. 5: 17-19 “Do you think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law.”
1. The Old Testament’s moral precepts – the law promulgated by Moses and upheld by the prophets – are based on the natural law and are to be obeyed Jesus says “until heaven and earth pass away!” Jesus not only upholds these commandments but gives greater weight and deeper meaning to them! He implements a new level of covenant righteousness that stretches beyond the boundaries of the Old Covenant in two ways.
2. Outwardly, the New Covenant stretches beyond the nation of Israel to all nations in the kingdom of His Church on earth. Inwardly, it penetrates to the heart, it reaches within to govern our interior life according to an elevated standard of holiness. The Old Covenant formed virtuous citizens in Israel. The New Covenant generates saints – the universal call to holiness in the one, true Church established by Jesus Christ.
3. This New Covenant call to holiness is the theme of Matthew Chapter 5 that we have been praying with this week – Christ’s call to live the Beatitudes, to become the light of the world, and today, to strive for deeper purification and conversion of heart!
4. “You have heard it said… You shall not kill. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment!”
Everyone gets angry at times. The question is what do we do with our anger? Do we nurse anger and resentment in our heart and thoughts until we finally lash out in our words and actions? Or do we resist and act against the anger – Ignatian agere contra. The key is self-awareness. Recognize the signs. Act instead of react. As soon as you feel agitated, as soon as you feel your temper rising, walk away from the person or situation without saying anything. Then act intensely against the anger by taking an opposite action. Some helpful suggestions. Let’s call them the eight beatitudes of mercy.
- Pray a fervent Act of Contrition, calling to mind your many sins and how often God has forgiven you. Beg for the grace to forgive others.
- Recall and pray the first words Jesus spoke as He hung on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” (Lk. 23:34)
- Pray the Our Father slowly, thinking about the words, especially these words, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
- Pray fervent Hail Marys, even Rosaries for this person and beg for Mary’s intercession – there are two hearts that need to be changed.
- Walk in the steps of the saints; when you feel antagonism towards a person, act against your feelings by performing acts of kindness for them. This is not hypocrisy, this is heroic virtue! If you continue in this way, your feelings will follow your actions and you will begin to have compassion for this person.
- If you are still struggling, go to Mother Mary with this heartfelt prayer: “Mother, you must give me your Heart to love them with, for my heart is too small.” I have never known this prayer to fail.
- Remember, we can never know another person’s heart – what life experiences have formed them – what wounds they bear, what terrors and demons they are fighting inside – what troubles they are experiencing in their life right now.
- Consider that God may have brought this person into your life because they need prayers and He knows you are a person of prayer! Adopt them as your spiritual child and pray every day for their conversion and eternal salvation. You may be the only person praying for them. They will never know or thank you here, but they will be eternally grateful when you both reach heaven, for to save another is to save yourself as well.
5. “You have heard it said… You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart!”
Our heart belongs to the One who created us. Are we serious about guarding our heart? Is our heart pure and chaste? We are to be chaste even in marriage. The marital act is to be unitive and fruitful for one purpose – the spouses helping each other and their children to get to heaven. Jesus speaks of this truth, “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.”(Mt. 22:33) Are we chaste in our thoughts? In our desires? In what we see and hear? In our words and actions? In the way we dress and comport ourselves? The surest way to preserve a pure and chaste heart is to ask Jesus and Mary to walk on either side of us, St. Joseph to walk in front of us, our guardian angel to walk behind us, at all times
6. “You have heard it said… Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery!”
An Examen for married couples. Do you view the Sacrament of Marriage as sacred and indissoluble? Do you value and protect your marriage? Do you pray for your spouse and your marriage daily? Do you frequent the Sacrament of Confession and offer your Mass and Holy Communion for your marriage and family? Do you encourage the daily family Rosary? Do you support and encourage your spouse? Do you refrain from complaining about your spouse? Do you regularly sit down as a couple and discuss what is going on in your marriage and family life? Do you ask for forgiveness and freely give forgiveness? Do you seek counsel from our priests to help resolve marriage and family difficulties? And if necessary, seek marriage counseling to preserve your marriage? In other words, are you willing to fight for your marriage? When you have done all you can, leave the rest in God’s hands, and you will find peace
7. “You have heard it said… An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.”
It takes deep prayer and many acts of penance to bear all things silently for the love of Christ crucified! May we beg for the grace! Then join all we suffer to the Passion and death of Christ on the cross in reparation for our sins and the sins of others, and the salvation of many souls!
8, “You have heard it said… You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your heavenly Father!”
Holiness is not as far away as we may think. We have all had moments when we looked on our enemy, on the one who hated us, the one who hurt us, and by the grace of God forgave them and prayed for them with a sincere and pure heart. In that moment, we were children of our heavenly Father, we were perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect! That can be every moment in our lives, if we beg for the grace and will it!
JMJ
